Halcyon
by Procrastinations
Summary: A collection of themed drabbles featuring a plethora of characters crossing all time-spans.
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
>This is going to be a series of random one-shots based off a list of themes I found buried on my computer. Updating will probably be sporadic, but you never know. Happy reading!<strong>

**Introduction – Lily and Severus, 1969**

The park is quiet; although the sun is still up it's beginning to set. A petite girl with ginger hair sneaks through the gate, making her way over to a dirty-haired boy who's sat alone on the swing set. She takes the seat beside him, watching him watch her. She is the first one to break the silence.

"I'm Lily," she tells him, sticking out her hand. Reluctantly, he shakes it. "What's your name?"

"Severus," he replies. "Severus Snape."

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" She blurts, seemingly unable to hold in her queries after the small introduction.

"About you being a witch?" She nods, looking abashed. "Yes. I'm a wizard, and my mum's a witch too. You're magical."

Lily beams, and Severus smiles.


	2. Chapter 2: Making History

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
>This is going to be a series of random one-shots based off a list of themes I found buried on my computer. Updating will probably be sporadic, but you never know. Happy reading!<strong>

**Making History – Tom Riddle, 1943  
><strong>He was never considered fabulous, never thought to be particularly special at that hideous orphanage his pathetic excuse for a mother had left him in. There, he was a nonentity; scum and nothing more. At Hogwarts, however… he has carved a name for himself: bright, studious, cunning. In Slytherin he is adored, adulated, worshipped. His hoard of sycophants follow him like a flock of gormless sheep. His private life remains just that – private. His own extracurricular studies are hidden from the rest of the school, most notably (and most difficultly) from that Muggle-loving fool of a Transfiguration teacher. He is Tom Marvolo Riddle – powerful, shrewd murderer – and one day he will make history.


	3. Chapter 3: Rivalry

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
>This is going to be a series of random one-shots based off a list of themes I found buried on my computer. Updating will probably be sporadic, but you never know. Happy reading!<strong>

**Rivalry – James and Severus, 1976**

****Their sixth year starts much as their fifth year left off.  
>"Hey, Snivellus!"<br>He should be used to the taunt by now; Lily had told him enough times to ignore it. That reminder of all he has lost hits him like Crucio, slamming into his ribs. His pathetic rivalry with Potter has reached the point where it has cost him that which he loved the most, and it kills him.


	4. Chapter 4: Unbreakable

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
>This is going to be a series of random one-shots based off a list of themes I found buried on my computer. Updating will probably be sporadic, but you never know. Happy reading!<strong>

**Unbreakable – Narcissa and Bellatrix, 1967**

****"Bella?"  
>"Yeah?"<br>Narcissa takes a seat beside her sister, curling her feet underneath her and starts fiddling with the tassels on an embroidered cushion. "You know how we're sisters?"  
>"Yes?"<br>"Will we always be best friends?" The question comes out in a torrent of nervous speech. Bellatrix, surprisingly, does not shoot her sister a derogatory glance and a nasty reply. Instead, she curls an arm around her little sister and draws her close.  
>"You know how Dad was in trouble, and Mum made that Vow to protect him?"<br>"The Unbreakable Vow," Narcissa confirms, nodding. She may only be seven, but she's wise in the ways of her family.  
>"Being sisters is like that. I will always be there for you and Andie, and she'll always be there for you and me."<br>"And I'll always be there for both of you!" Narcissa pipes up. Bellatrix smiles – a genuine thing, one that rarely graces her face – and hugs Narcissa close.  
>"Now go bug Sirius." Narcissa complies, sliding off the sofa and hurrying out the door. Before she leaves, she turns.<br>"Love you!"  
>"You too!" Bellatrix calls softly, knowing her sister has heard. The statement is genuine, but so rare. Bellatrix stands and kicks a house-elf in the shins as she passes, praying that the sentiment will never fade.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: Obsession

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
>This is going to be a series of random one-shots based off a list of themes I found buried on my computer. Updating will probably be sporadic, but you never know. Happy reading!<strong>

**Obsession – Bellatrix, 1996**

****It has been too long, Bellatrix thinks, inhaling the aura of power that clings to her Master. Fifteen years was an awfully long time to be stuck with nothing but her thoughts for company. How she had laughed when she smelled fresh air. How she had revelled in the pure joy of being reunited with the man she loved – not the pathetic husband to whom she had been betrothed, but _him_. Oh, it was glorious. Narcissa had been worried, the night Bella told her she was joining his army, claiming her fanatical obsession would be the death of her. Narcissa was ridiculous; Bellatrix is a warrior. Her namesake is wholly accurate. This _obsession_, as her sister so crudely called it, was not insane, was not crude, was not _mania_. No, this was love. The fact that her Lord was incapable of returning the affection was irrelevant. She was wholly, purely his and perhaps in time he would be wholly, purely hers.


	6. Chapter 6: Eternity

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
>This is going to be a series of random one-shots based off a list of themes I found buried on my computer. Updating will probably be sporadic, but you never know. Happy reading!<strong>

**Eternity – Dumbledore and Grindelwald, 1945**

"You don't have to do this, Gellert," Albus murmurs, so quiet it's a wonder his companion can hear him. That familiar, beautiful mouth curves up in that half-smile – _Oh Merlin, why did he have to go dark?_ – and he snickers.  
>"Oh, Albus. Of course I did."<br>"Ariana," Albus bites out. "She died because of you."  
>"A loss," Gellert replies, "A shame. But it could also be argued that you did her in as well, old friend."<br>"Do _not_," Albus snarls, all traces of calm vanished from his features, "call me that. I am not a friend."  
>"A companion. A comrade. An ally. A lover. Call it what you want, Albus." Gellert raises his wand. "Let's end the way we started. Duelling."<br>And they do. The fight is tremendous, legendary. Any chance of reconciliation is lost as the wizards battle. Were it not for the colour of the flashes of light they could be back in a classroom – it all seems so _effortless_. A well-placed hex from Dumbledore leaves Grindelwald pinned to the floor, nearly motionless, blood trickling from a cut across his mouth. He looks obscene like this, the murderer he truly is. Albus places a silent Stunning Spell on him, rendering his opponent fully still, and picks up the body. Only his eyes betray his alertness – they are furiously anguished, dead in an alive sort of way. He always was an oxymoron of an enigma. With a _crack_ the wizards are gone, and after what seems like an eternity, it's over.


	7. Chapter 7: Love

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
>This is going to be a series of random one-shots based off a list of themes I found buried on my computer. Updating will probably be sporadic, but you never know. Happy reading!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>7.) Love – Lily and James, 1978<strong>

"Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you believe in love?"

She bites her lip and leans her head against the stone wall of the Astronomy Tower. "I… I don't think so. In all honesty I've got no idea."

"How come?"

"A lot of people get their ideas of love from their parents, right?" James nods. "My parents don't love each other. They claim to, but it's all empty words and half-hearted sayings. Dad makes little digs at Mum, and she makes snide remarks about him back, and they lie and say they're so _happy_. Mum told me once that she loathes Dad as much as she loves him, and she loves him more than she can say."

"So why doesn't she leave him?" James asks, confused.

"Because with him, she's okay, but without him she's miserable. So she's going to spend the rest of her life being _okay_ because it's better than the alternative, and I hate that. She deserves to be happy, but she's never going to get that from him or from any other man, because that would require leaving him." She glances at the floor, despondent, and James shuffles over to give her a hug. No-one is quite sure where their relationship lies – they seem to be on the edge of dating but the way they act around each other is more that of best friends. They spend hours in each other's company, but they don't flirt. They disappear to the Astronomy Tower but don't kiss. Instead, they pour out their hearts to one another, and many are jealous of their friendship.

"For years and years," James tells her, changing the subject, "I wanted a brother, and I resented my parents for ages for having me so late. Other kids wanted the latest Nimbus and I wanted a sibling."

She leans her head on his shoulder. "But you've got three brothers in the form of Sirius, Remus and Peter," she says. "Besides, you might have been landed with a sister as mental as mine."

Lily may not believe in love, but at that moment James thinks she couldn't be more perfect.


	8. Chapter 8: Echoes

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
>This is going to be a series of random one-shots based off a list of themes I found buried on my computer. Updating will probably be sporadic, but you never know. Happy reading!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>8.) Echoes – Petunia, 1982<br>**

She isn't sure why she came to the little town of Godric's Hollow – it had been a spur-of-the-moment, consumed-by-grief decision that had involved lying to Vernon before taking a two-hour drive to visit the house of her deceased sister. Dudley, mercifully, fell asleep twenty minutes after getting in the car and showed no signs of waking up soon. She reckoned that the house itself would be quite obvious, but the moment she set foot in the village any sign of her sister's life was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she meandered into the graveyard where she now sits, resting her hand against the cool marble gravestone that denotes Lily's name. A cough from behind her makes Petunia turn, irritation plain on her face, and an old woman with a kindly face smiles benignly down at her.

"I assume you're Petunia," the lady murmurs. Dumbstruck, Petunia nods, and the woman laughs dryly. "Lily mentioned you often," she continues. "I have something to show you, if you're willing."

"Wh-what is it?" Petunia asks in a small voice. This woman, freakish though she may be (as she almost certainly is – Petunia doubts Lily kept in touch with any _normal_ people after abandoning her sister) knew Lily. Had spoken with her. Could show Petunia some relic of her dead sister's life, so she could be that much closer. That much more real. That much more alive.

"The house where they lived. It's been kept… broken, as a monument." Nodding dumbly, Petunia allows the sentimental part of her to quash the rational thought that bubbles to the surface of her thoughts and follows the strange woman out of the graveyard. It is not a far walk; a few minutes later they arrive at a standstill.

"What am I supposed to see?" Petunia asks, irritated. The woman sighs and murmurs something; abruptly, a house materialises out of nowhere. While it does not appear entirely damaged, the entire right side of the top floor has been blown apart. In that room, she supposes, her sister died protecting her son. Something hideous, raw, visceral bubbles up inside her throat and her legs threaten to buckle. Hot tears spring to her eyes and threaten to overflow; a high-pitched keening sound erupts from her throat. _So this is grief_, she thinks, absorbing the small house that lies in ruins. Echoes of a lost life resonate in her ears – a child's laugh, a mother's voice crooning softly, a father's I-love-you. The woman shuffles away, and with her the image of the house disappears. She holds her head high as she strides back to the car; once inside she sobs like a child. The effect is cathartic, and perhaps she can finally begin to move on.


End file.
